Away rotation suggestions?

[traveltheworld]

Hi! I'm looking to do an away at OHSU and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for what elective vs. sub I is best to do for an away rotation. I'm sure it's already been covered here before, but I haven't seen anything recently. Thanks a bunch...and congrats to all y'all who've just matched!

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[superbeangirl]

Depending on when you want to do the rotation (or are available) you might not have a lot of choice as to what rotation you actually get. If you're trying for early in the year, a sub-I is probably out. I wanted to do an elective there quite early (August) and I got my paperwork in as soon as they accepted it (which I believe is right around now??) and I still got my 5th or 6th choice. I ended up doing Peds Neuro there, which was really awesome. Actually, the only reason it was so far down the list was because I had already done a Peds Neuro rotation at my school, so I wanted to try something different.

I happen to be interested in the field, so that helped, but it was also a really varied rotation with the chance to go to clinics at the Shriner (neuromuscular diseases), neurometabolic clinic, and also spend time at the developmental center - in addition to the expected seizure/headache clinics. It was a good mix of inpatient and outpatient stuff as well - and you will definitely have enough autonomy to show that you know how to handle yourself (following inpatients, seeing clinic patients on your own and presenting to attendings, dictating clinic/discharge notes). I had the chair of the department offer to write me a letter (or otherwise help in any way he could). And like I said, I had a really great time. Oh... and NO CALL and NO WEEKEND duties - so go explore Portland and the mountains and the beaches that are so nearby (if you want any tips here, just ask).

As far as other rotations - I have met people who did ID, Heme/Onc, and Cardiology at Doernbecher and all I heard from them were raves, but I don't know anything specific about the rotations. I know those that wanted rec letters got them, though, and I think that would be true for just about any rotation you do there.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck and have fun!! 🙂

 

[14022]

If you are a mediocre applicant, I would definately recommend a sub-I, since it will give the program their best assessment of you as a future intern. However, if you are an above average applicant, I think a sub-I can hurt you more than help you. As a sub-I on a general pediatrics service, you can admit almost any problem in any age of a child. The breadth of pathology is overwhelming. It is more difficult to prepare for a general peds sub-I since you cannot focus your reading on a specific set of topics. The NICU is a bit different sinc the pathology is limited and you will likely see the same diseases over and over throughout the month, such as prematuriy, IVH, IDM, HMD, etc. However, as a sub-I you are more critically assessed by the attending and the expectations are higher. So I would only do a subI if you have to based on the quality of your application for residency.

On a subspecialty elective, it is usually less work and more laid back. Expectations are lower. It is easier to prepare since you can focus your reading on a certain organ system, patient population, etc. It is easier to impress them for these reasons. It may not look as good as doing a sub-I to the recruitment committee, but if your application is strong then it doesnt matter. They just want to make sure that you are easy to work with and are hard working.

I did 2 aways on subspecialty services and used them more for me to get a better look at the programs in which I was interested. Ironically, the hospital I liked much less during the away elective, I liked it much more based just on the interview day. My first choice program did not impress me on the interview day but I knew from my away rotation that it was a fantastic place to train. This shows you that the interview day is very superficial. So based on the aways, the hospital that I thought would be 1 or 2 on my list ended up being 4 or 5 since I knew despite the great interview day I had there that it was a pretty crappy place to spend 3 years as a resident.

As far as OHSU goes, the PD at my med school has a daughter who was an average applicant in med school. She did a heme-onc rotation since it was the only elective left and worked her butt off. She ended up matching there, when the PD said she likely wouldnt even have gotten an interview. So work hard, have a good attitude, and things will work out for you. Best of luck!

 

[superbeangirl]

She ended up matching there, when the PD said she likely wouldnt even have gotten an interview.

That reminds me... the PD at OHSU (Joe.. great guy, you'll like him) - he said that pretty much every student who does an away rotation at Doernbecher ends up getting a residency interview when the time comes (unless you really do something to mess it up). That is by no means a guarentee, but it is kind of nice to know.

And if you do a rotation there, be sure to make time to go in and chat with Joe (PD) at some point. Ask him some questions, show some interest in the place. When interview time comes around, you have something to look back on and chat about, plus if he's not there on your interview day (like happened to me) he still knows you. He's also very accessible by e-mail and very willing to talk to applicants at any point in the whole process.

 

[traveltheworld]

Thanks a bunch you two for your advice. I'm planning on doing my away in October. Not sure what my competitiveness is right now, but I'll err on the side of above average...hopefully. 🙂 After reading your posts, I think I might put down NICU, cardiology, hem/onc, and neuro in some order.

Also, we only do a couple weeks of neuro at our school in 3rd year. Are we expected to know a lot before we go on that rotation? Should we do a practice round at our own school first? I want exposure to a lot of fields to be prepared, so I don't want to duplicate if unneccessary.

I'm really looking forward to seeing for myself now!

 

[14022]

I personally think it is a waste to repeat an elective. As long as you read and work hard, you should be fine. I don't think you are expected to know a lot, but the more you know, the better you will look. I would try and read up on common problems in the field prior to starting and contiuing to read up on patients encountered while on the elective.

In retrospect, the most important part of doing away electives is being adaptable to the people you are working with. I am a fairly intense person and my first away elective was with very intense attendings who loved to pimp and were sort of intimidating. So I had to step it up a bit to meet their expectations. When I did my next away rotation the following month I initially carried this mentality to the next hospital. But when I realized this attending was very laid back, I had to cut it down a few notches and be more relaxed. My attending at the second away elective even told me at the end of the rotation that I came on too strong but once I relaxed after a day or two that I was a pleasure to work with. I ended up matching there, so I guess I made a decent impression.

So when you do these away electives, do your best to get along with EVERYBODY, regardless of how much you may be annoyed with them. If you are with another medical student, do not try and compete with them because it will only hurt you. Attendings will respect you much more if you try and maintain a cooperative learning environment rather than one of continually trying to show someone up.